The Presence of God in Us

 ”And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD”.

1 Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The Inner Sanctuary within The Temple was for housing the Ark of the Covenant of God which was the Presence of Yahweh.  The Ark was made in the year that Moses brought the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage.  Four hundred and eighty years later Solomon ruled in Jerusalem and he took seven years to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem.  The most holy place, or the inner sanctuary housed the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD which was the Presence of Yahweh.  Everything in the most holy place was gold plated and everywhere you looked there was pure gold, it was dazzling.  The high priest only went once a year to atone for Israel’s sins on the day of atonement.  The Lord Jesus Christ made the way, through His Blood Sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind.  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own Blood He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  Now we are brothers and sisters in God’s family because of the Blood of Jesus, and He welcomes us to come into the most holy sanctuary to the very Presence of Yahweh in the heavenly realm—boldly and without hesitation.  Thank You Lord Jesus that through You, we come to the Presence of Yahweh.  Amen!

Let’s Love & Serve One Another

 ”If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.“

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

For example, if you have a speaking gift, speak as though God were speaking His words through you. If you have the gift of serving, do it passionately with the strength God gives you, so that in everything God alone will be glorified through Jesus Christ. For to Him belong the power and the glory forever throughout all ages! Amen.  Speaking God’s word includes preaching, teaching and prophesying.  The one who provides finances, depends on the strength of God Who supplies all things.  In these times approaching the coming of Christ, let’s be given more to prayer; be devoted to loving our fellow believers.  Let’s be compassionate to the stranger and foreigner.  Let’s use spiritual gifts to serve one another and give God the glory in all things for to Him belongs all dominion, praise and glory. Amen!

Christ Chose Us to be His Dwelling Place

 ”And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.“

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Following the king Solomon’s orders, they quarried huge blocks of the best stone—dressed stone for the foundation of The Temple. Solomon and Hiram’s construction workers, cut and prepared the timber and stone for building The Temple.  The best was selected to build the excellent temple of God in Jerusalem.  In His Blood, Christ has made us to be His “living stones” who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God. For now we serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that He readily accepts through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture: Look! I lay a cornerstone in Zion, a chosen and priceless stone! And whoever believes in Him will certainly not be disappointed.  God offered the most precious and priceless Gift to us that by faith we become the sanctuary of God. Our body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in us.  We don’t belong to ourselves any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside us.  Hallelujah!

Characteristics of the Disciples of Christ

 ”Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.“

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Now, this is the goal: to live in harmony with one another and demonstrate affectionate love, sympathy, and kindness toward other believers. Let humility describe who you are as you dearly love one another. Never retaliate when someone treats you wrongly, nor insult those who insult you, but instead, respond by speaking a blessing over them—because a blessing is what God promised to give you.  Every believer is blessed by God.  Our fellowship as believers who follow Christ is to have sublime harmony, demonstrating an affectionate brotherly love; having sympathy and kindness with humility; this fervent love never retaliates evil for evil or insult for insult but instead speaks blessings over those who mistreat us.  Relationship with the Holy Spirit helps us to walk in love that characterises our fellowship as disciples of Christ.  Amen!

To Christ be Glory & Dominion Forever & Ever

 ”For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.“

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ ‭KJV‬

Solomon was sovereign over everything, countries and kings, west of the River Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza. Peace reigned everywhere.  It was through peace that Solomon had dominion over Israel, a shadow of the reality of God’s dominion.  We connect dominion with domination.  But as Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way when at the end of the time he lifted his eyes to heaven, and his understanding returned to him; and he “blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His Kingdom is from generation to generation.”  God’s will is that we believe in Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!

The Word of God - Our Nourishment

 ”as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,“

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, we must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause us to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life — especially now that we have had a taste of the goodness of Yahweh and have experienced His kindness. So let’s keep coming to Him Who is the Living Stone —though He was rejected and discarded by men but chosen by God and is priceless in God’s sight.  The “pure spiritual milk” is the sustaining power of God’s Word coming from His very breast, as it were, to nourish and strengthen our inner being.  Let’s approach the Scriptures with an attitude of a newborn babe, drawing milk from the mother.  The Word of God is our necessity and our delight - He is the Seed, the Word, the Milk, the Lord and the Living Stone.  The Church is built on Christ, “the Living Stone”.  He is our sure foundation.  Amen!

Wisdom Greater than Solomon’s

 ”And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.“

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

God said to Solomon, “Because you have asked for this and haven’t grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I’ll give you what you’ve asked for—I’m giving you a wise and mature heart. There’s never been one like you before; and there’ll be no one after.  God kept His Word, till He Himself came!  Then and today, He will never force anyone to believe in Him, it is mankind’s free will choice to have faith in Him.  Jesus told those who argued, “On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’”  Today, in the new covenant, to those who are called, the greater than Solomon, Who is Christ, is the power of God, the wisdom of God for all who believe.  Amen!

Bought by the Precious Blood of Christ

 ”forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:“

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

For we know that our lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, but the precious Blood of Christ—Who like a spotless, unblemished Lamb was sacrificed for us.  We were ransomed from the futile, fallen mindset that we inherited from our fathers.  This was not concluded by our own labour represented by the fluctuating values of gold and silver and the economy of our religious efforts;  but we are redeemed with the priceless Blood of Christ.  He is the ultimate Sacrifice; spotless and without blemish.  Jesus completes the prophetic picture.  Deity clothed in human skin, as the Son; the Lion of Judah becoming the Lamb of God in order to free our minds to rediscover His image and likeness in our skin!  Hallelujah!

The Kingdom of Our God

 ”Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.“

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬ ‭KJV 

Solomon took over on the throne of his father David; he had a firm grip on the kingdom.  Then Solomon dealt with all those who stood against his father, one by one.  Yahweh fulfilled the prophetic word to the house of David.  For eighteen generations David’s descendants ruled from Jerusalem till they were taken over by the Babylonians.  Then at the right moment the priest Zechariah who was struck dumb for nine months, for his unbelief, found his mouth opened as he prophesied, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David”.  The Messiah was born to save and redeem His people through His sacrifice and by His resurrection He rules in the hearts of all those who receive forgiveness from Him.  His Throne is established forever and the kingdoms of the world will soon become the Kingdom of our God and of His Anointed One! He will reign supreme for an eternity of eternities!  Hallelujah!

Let Jesus Be Real to Us

 ”Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.“

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Meanwhile, brothers and sisters, we must be patient and filled with expectation as we wait for the appearing of the Lord. Think about the farmer who has to patiently wait for the earth’s harvest as it ripens because of the early and latter rains.  Let’s be passionate about the Presence of the LORD because He is Immanuel, God with us.  For us His proximity is real and will be visible to all, in the same way as the farmer waits patiently for his harvest letting the early and latter rains to do its work for the precious yield.  Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to make Jesus real to us every moment.  Amen!